Intro

Welcome to our Big News section for all the latest news concerning Military Disability.

We'll do our best to keep you up to date on everything that could affect your disability. Since the majority of our news will cover legal issues that can be dragged out for a long time, if you'd like an update on an issue, let us know, and we'll do what we can.

Please feel free to comment and submit questions. We want to give you the information you need, so help us by letting us know what you want to know.

Monday, October 31, 2016

The VA announced last week that it is partnering with
Stanford University to establish America’s first Hadron Center in Palo Alto,
CA. The VA’s long-standing relationship with Stanford University’s School of
Medicine makes it possible for the VA Palo Alto Health Care System to provide
veterans with a wide range of medical services. The new Hadron Center will
expand this affiliation by joining forces to focus on particle beam (“hadron”) therapy
for veterans and non-veterans with cancer who might benefit from this
treatment.

Hadron therapy is the term used to describe radiation
therapy using beams made of charged particles such as protons, carbon or other
ions. Clinical trials in Japan and Germany have shown that particle beam
therapy is more effective than traditional radiation therapy at killing
radiation-resistant and deep-seated tumors because it delivers more precise
doses of radiation to the tumors with far less damage done to surrounding
healthy tissues.

Current radiation therapy for cancer uses x-ray beams
(high-energy photons) to target and destroy tumor cells. Radiation oncologists
use criss-crossing beams from several angles to irradiate the tumor and try to
create as little impact as possible on surrounding healthy tissues.
Unfortunately, it is impossible to prevent some radiation from being deposited
in healthy tissue, creating problems of its own. The use of hadron therapy minimizes
the damage done to healthy tissues.

The Hadron Center will be a clinical facility designed to
use particle beam therapy to treat cancer patients. Although Hadron therapy is
not currently approved by the FDA, once the center is established in Palo Alto,
the VA and Stanford Medicine will begin clinical trials to obtain FDA approval
as well as researching other possible clinical uses for carbon ion therapy. The
Hadron Center will be the first of its kind in the country and will further
research in cutting edge cancer treatment.

Monday, October 17, 2016

Audiological conditions, especially hearing loss and
tinnitus, are the most common service-connected conditions in veterans due to exposure
to loud noises (planes, artillery, etc.) or as sides effects to medication. More
than 30 million veterans suffer from some form of hearing loss.

Because of the high incidence of hearing loss among
veterans, the VA is a leader in audiological research. Ongoing research is
looking at the connection between PTSD and traumatic brain injury and hearing
loss. Other studies are looking at causes and prevention, such as biomarkers
that may warn of developing hearing loss, as well as a wide range of treatment options.

As we reported earlier, by the end of 2016, veterans needing
routine audiology appointments will be able to schedule them directly at all VA
facilities without a referral from their primary care manager. The VA hopes
that this will make it easier and faster for veterans to receive needed care
from an audiologist. To find out if this option is now available where you
live, simply contact your local VA facility. If it’s not currently available,
they should be able to tell you when it will be.

Wednesday, October 5, 2016

The VA announced last month that veterans who receive care
at VA medical centers will now be able to schedule routine appointments at
local optometry and audiology clinics without a referral from their Primary
Care Manager (PCM).

Until now, veterans who needed routine eye or ear care would
have to make an appointment with their PCM, get a referral for a consult visit,
and then wait for clinic personnel to contact them to schedule the consult
appointment. This process often resulted in a wait of several weeks before the
veteran actually got to see an optometrist or audiologist.

The Audiology and Optometry Direct Scheduling Initiative,
which started as a pilot program in 2015 at 3 VA sites, is now being expanded
to all VA medical centers. The Initiative is expected to be fully implemented
at all VA medical centers by the end of 2016. It should not only drastically
reduce veterans’ wait times for routine ear and eye appointments, but it is
anticipated that it will also free up primary care physicians’ schedules,
making it easier and quicker for veterans to get appointments with their PCM.

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About Me

As a retired Air Force Colonel and physician, I am a Military Disability and VA Disability specialist. As a physician, I have specialties in preventive medicine, occupational medicine, and healthcare administration. While on active duty, I had direct responsibility over preventive medicine for all military members in deployed environments and contingency operations. Since retiring, I have worked as a contractor for the Physical Disability Board of Review (PDBR), reviewing military disability cases, and for the VA, performing C&P exams.